Little ringed plover

Little ringed plover
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Charadriidae
Genus: Charadrius
Species: C. dubius
Binomial name
Charadrius dubius
Scopoli, 1786

The little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) is a small plover.

Description

Little ringed plover - chick

Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill. The legs are flesh-coloured and the toes are all webbed.
Call
Call of little ringed plover
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This species differs from the larger ringed plover in leg colour, the head pattern, and the presence of a clear yellow eye-ring.

Mating, the male birds hits the cloaca of the female bird

Habitats and range

Egg of Charadrius dubius – MHNT

Their breeding habitat is open gravel areas near freshwater, including gravel pits, islands and river edges in Europe and western Asia. They nest on the ground on stones with little or no plant growth. Both male and female take turn to incubate the eggs.

They are migratory and winter in Africa. These birds forage for food on muddy areas, usually by sight. They eat insects and worms.

Conservation

The little ringed plover is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Charadrius dubius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charadrius dubius.
Wikispecies has information related to: Charadrius dubius